Free Trade Fact of the Day

Today’s Free Trade Fact of the Day comes from Hudson Institute fellow Rod Hunter who wrote last week in the Wall Street Journal:

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both claim to be ready to be president on “day one.” But on the campaign trail, both are pandering to organized labor and other antitrade activists on the left. Mrs. Clinton … is now calling for a “time out” from any new trade pacts. Mr. Obama … wants to renegotiate Nafta.

It is true that there is a lot of churning as jobs are destroyed, but even more are created as firms enter, exit or are resized in a dynamic economy. Back in 2004, Ben Bernanke, then a Federal Reserve governor, looked at Bureau of Labor Statistics data stretching back a decade and pointed out that about 15 million jobs were lost and 17 million created each year — an annual net creation of nearly two million jobs. What’s more, only about 2.5% of the jobs lost were a result of import competition. The vast majority of jobs lost were caused by changes in consumer tastes, domestic competition, and technology.

Don’t have time to read the Washington Post or New York Times? Then get The Morning Bell, an early morning edition of the day’s most important political news, conservative commentary and original reporting from a team committed to following the truth no matter where it leads.

Email address

Ever feel like the only difference between the New York Times and Washington Post is the name? We do. Try the Morning Bell and get the day’s most important news and commentary from a team committed to the truth in formats that respect your time…and your intelligence.